Mumbai: Bulli Bai is another version of Sulli Deals came up on the surface of internet displaying Muslim women for sale online. Amid this the IT Ministry has taken action. The matter was brought to the notice of IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw by Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Twitter. After that the minister said that GitHub confirmed blocking and CRET and police will take further actions.
Chaturvedi tweeted: “I have repeatedly asked Hon. IT Minister @AshwiniVaishnaw ji to take stern action against such rampant misogyny and communal targeting of women through #sullideals like platforms. A shame that it continues to be ignored.”
To which Vaishnaw replied in a tweet and said, “GitHub confirmed blocking the user this morning itself. CERT and Police authorities are coordinating further action.”
As per sources the matter has been raised with Delhi as well as Mumbai police. Mumbai Cyber Police has begun to probe into objectionable content on the app ‘Bulli Bai’, an official told news agency PTI. This app has triggered a major controversy for the second time in less than a year.
Sources also said GitHub had intimated MeitY that it had received a complaint from Mumbai Police, and that their headquarters was in the process of taking action.
The central government, meanwhile, is also assuring cooperation to any such investigation. But since law and order was a state subject, police of the particular where the complaint has been received will have to act upon it.
This app is a replica of the Sulli Deals which triggered a row last year by offering users a “Sulli” – a derogatory term used by right-wing social media trolls for Muslim women – calling them “deals of the day”. There were no sale transactions, but the purpose of the app was to degrade, humiliate and harass, some of its targets said.
“The app ‘Bulli Bai’ works just the same way as ‘Sulli Deals’ did. Once you open it, you randomly find a Muslim woman’s face being displayed as Bulli Bai,” a social media user said.
Muslim women with a strong presence on Twitter have been singled out and their photos were listed on the platform once again. The abuse drew strong condemnation on Twitter.
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